Just Lookin’
Out the Window
On the east wall of the room that I use for an office, I have a window that looks out on our back yard. It’s not a special window or anything. It’s just an average-sized window that they commonly installed in houses built about 40 years ago. You know – the kind with panels of glass held reasonably securely in place in the wooden frames that you can move up and down to adjust the flow of spring breezes into the house. Pretty cool actually. And as far as I’m concerned, it has a lot more personality than the newer “energy efficient” windows that sit day after day in their boring little aluminum frames. But that’s just my personal opinion.
Even though the window itself is pretty neat, it’s what’s outside that I like to focus on. Here’s what I see…
Trees – lots of trees, not only in our backyard but in the neighbor’s yard and along the pasture across the road and up onto the north-south ridge that lies about a half mile beyond. All kinds of trees – ash, maple, catalpa, walnut, pecan, locust, box elder, oak, dogwood and redbud with a few conifers thrown in for good measure.
In the backyard, I see a bunch of different shrubs and wildflowers. I especially like the wild strawberries with their yellow blossoms and small red fruits blanketing select sections of the yard. Oh sure, there are several different grasses in the backyard too, but they just naturally seem to be sharing their space with the other cool plants that have chosen to live there. And of course, there are the “civilized” strawberry beds and garden areas that yours truly has strategically placed to take advantage of the morning sun.
Then there are the birds – lots of birds. Two thriving robin families, cardinals, blue jays, finches, wrens, goldfinches, chickadees, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flickers, thrashers, doves and an occasional bluebird along with the mandatory periodic appearance of blackbirds and starlings. Oh, we can’t forget the occasional high level sightings of the hawks and vultures either.
And – there are the other critters. The squirrels, flying squirrels (we don’t see much of them since they’re pretty much night creatures), field mice, shrews and rabbits. You don’t have to go much further than across the road to find the home of a whole civilization of possum, raccoon, skunks, gray foxes and white-tailed deer.
I’d be remiss too, if I didn’t at least mention the selection of backyard insects. The butterflies, dragon flies, bees, wasps, crickets, katydids and fireflies along with the usual assortment of ants and other tiny creatures that only an expert entomologist could identify.
Looking out my window on a reasonably clear day, I can watch the patterns of light and shade change shape on the grasses and wildflowers as the sunlight filters through the trees. I can watch the different animals and birds doing the things they do – foraging for food, nesting, mating, competing for personal territory – and playing. I can see all of the interactions in my little backyard ecosystem right from my office window. And I marvel at how wonderfully and flawlessly our world was created. A beautiful, perfectly balanced dance of nature.
Even if you are not fortunate to have an office window as I do, I hope that once in a while you will take the time to be with nature and enjoy the peace and beauty it has reserved for you. I think it’s one of our Creator’s nicest gifts to us. What do you think?
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